BOP 26 Artist Talk / Andy Aitchison
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Andy Aitchison - the UK’s foremost prison photographer - will discuss his new publication, Incarcerated, published by Bluecoat Press, 2026, presenting his unique contemporary social documentary photography from inside the UK’s Victorian prisons.
Andy has been making photographs inside the UK’s prisons since 2004, when he was asked by The Big Issue to photograph inside HMP Wandsworth. Since that first assignment he has photographed in nearly 50 prisons, often making repeat visits developing long-term projects. This work has been used extensively by charities, published both nationally and internationally, and contributed regularly to Inside Time - the UK’s leading prison newspaper.
The images in Incarcerated are taken from inside the UK’s Victorian-era prisons. Ninety prisons were opened or significantly expanded between 1842 and 1877, and over 30 remain in use today, collectively holding around a quarter of the UK’s prison population. These photographs are part of research on the long afterlives of Britain’s Victorian prison estate by a team of Professors of Carceral Geography, Criminology, Cultural and Political Geography, and Cultural History – and their writings are presented alongside the images in the Incarcerated photobook.
Andy will talk about this new publication, sharing many images from the work and touching on his experience photographing inside many of the UK's Victorian prisons.
Andy has been making photographs inside the UK’s prisons since 2004, when he was asked by The Big Issue to photograph inside HMP Wandsworth. Since that first assignment he has photographed in nearly 50 prisons, often making repeat visits developing long-term projects. This work has been used extensively by charities, published both nationally and internationally, and contributed regularly to Inside Time - the UK’s leading prison newspaper.
The images in Incarcerated are taken from inside the UK’s Victorian-era prisons. Ninety prisons were opened or significantly expanded between 1842 and 1877, and over 30 remain in use today, collectively holding around a quarter of the UK’s prison population. These photographs are part of research on the long afterlives of Britain’s Victorian prison estate by a team of Professors of Carceral Geography, Criminology, Cultural and Political Geography, and Cultural History – and their writings are presented alongside the images in the Incarcerated photobook.
Andy will talk about this new publication, sharing many images from the work and touching on his experience photographing inside many of the UK's Victorian prisons.
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Where is it happening?
Martin Parr Foundation, 316 Paintworks, Arnos Vale, BS2 0 Bristol, United Kingdom, Paintworks, St Philips Causeway, Bristol, BS4 3, United Kingdom
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherMartin Parr Foundation
